Writer: Helena Bergström
Updated: September 2026 | What is it like to stay at Hotel Pirchnerhof in Reith im Alpbachtal in Austria? We stayed here during our ski trip to Alpbachtal and fell in love with the cozy hotel, the view of the mountains and not least the fantastic food. Here we tell you about our experience of Pirchnerhof, from rooms and breakfast to dinners and relaxation after a day on the ski slopes.
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Down-to-earth yet luxurious
When you enter Hotel Pirchner Hof, it feels a bit like entering a Swedish mountain hotel. It smells of wood, and the feeling is rustic rather than exclusive. But it's the small details that make you realise that this is something special. just extra.
Our room at Hotel Pirchner Hof
Our room may look ordinary on the surface, but it was warm and cosy and the beds were really comfortable. Not to mention the blankets! The quality was everywhere, even if it didn't shine in that boastful way that it can in some places.
And then there were all those little things that make you happy: a bowl of fruit, a jug of water, lots of hangers, even more sockets, a fresh bathroom, a nice shower and ... a sewing kit!
One of the best things about the room was the view. We had a great view of the mountains and the snowy landscape. In addition, we could look out over the hotel's small pool. Nice both during the day and in the evening!
Half board at Hotel Pirchner Hof
We had (extended!) half board at the Hotel Pirchner Hof, which included a fantastic breakfast, a lunch and afternoon buffet, and a 4-course dinner for both of us. As well as free access to the pool.
I'm pretty picky when it comes to hotel breakfasts, but this one got top marks. It wasn't lavishly large, but everything held up well. really good quality. The scrambled eggs were creamy, the eggs were perfectly cooked, the cheeses had been delivered from the local cheesemaker, the marmalades were also local and the bread... oh yes, it was probably the best bread I have ever eaten in a hotel!
If you are at the hotel during the day, you can eat from a buffet with soup, bread, pasta salad and pastries. This was particularly useful on the day I arrived from the airport.
Dinners at Hotel Pirchner Hof
For dinner, you always had your "own" table. First you could get soup. So, so very good soups! After our trip to Austria, I have cravings for black root soup, so now I have to learn how to cook it! After the soup, it was always time for a small starter (like goat cheese balls or melon with parma ham) and then came the highlight, the main course.
What food! We ate trout, beef, pike-perch and rump steak. Everything was superb, so it's impossible to decide which was the best. And of course, every meal ended with a dessert...
Things to do in Reith im Alpbachtal
If you come to Reith am Alpbachtal in the winter, as we did, it is most likely because you want to ski. From Hotel Pirchner Hof, the nearest lift system is within walking distance, and if you want, you can take a bus to reach even more lifts and slopes.
If you come here in the summer months, you can experience nature by hiking or cycling. There are also several restaurants and shops with good local produce.
READ MORE: Skiing in Alpbachtal in Austria – our best tips
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English (UK) 
Svenska
Steve says:
I'm just about to have my breakfast which is delicious every day and got even hungrier after reading this. I would love to try that hotel breakfast. I think breakfast is a very important part of hotel accommodation.
11 January 2017 - 7:28
Henny says:
Mmmm. Sounds like a top place both in terms of accommodation and food. You don't have to ski to stay there for a few days?
11 January 2017 - 7:31
Lena i Wales says:
How wonderful it looks with snow and skiing, not to mention the good food!!!! I can skip breakfast, but the evening meal, oh, oh!!!!
11 January 2017 - 7:41
admin says:
Steve, great to have a good breakfast at home! 🙂 I'm one of those people who really appreciate a good breakfast, and then it's quality over quantity that counts."
Henny, no you don't have to ski of course! 😉 And I think it is also quite popular to go here in the summer and hike in the surroundings.
Lena in Wales, some people are like you and do not like breakfast. I myself wake up hungry every morning, haha, but it's lucky that you are different 😉 The dinners were a highlight!
11 January 2017 - 7:44
Åsa says:
I think it sounded affordable with everything included!
I have worked in a hotel in Austria, one called Hotel Goldried in Matrei in Osttirol. I cleaned rooms and watered the flowers on the balcony one season and then went on to work with the half-board and then I worked in the hotel bar at the after ski 🙂.
11 January 2017 - 7:58
LinizTravel says:
Sounds just like our hotel!!! So luxurious!!!! Very good food, breakfast, pool and everything !!!:) hugs
11 January 2017 - 8:13
admin says:
Åsa, yes when you think about what a dinner out can cost so...! And you really have experience with the whole chain in the Austrian Alps 🙂.
Liniztravel, I'm glad you have the same experience with good hotels!
11 January 2017 - 8:27
Lennart says:
Nice hotel in pleasant surroundings!
11 January 2017 - 8:41
Emma, Sol som sol? says:
Do you mean 2500 SEK for half or full board? Since it says that breakfast, buffet lunch and dinner are included, is it full board? Or I'm completely confused! 🙂
Anyway, I drool when I see the breakfast! I would have loved to eat those breads that look so rustically good, I'm incredibly tired of white bread and graham flour.
11 January 2017 - 8:43
Marina says:
I have been to the Alps twice, once in Austria and once in Italy, and apart from the skiing (and the blankets!) the food is probably the best part! Italy we did not have lunch but dinner was enough for that too. There was so much (and fantastically good) food that it would probably have been enough to feed the whole family on one of the portions.
Probably the food was just as good in Austria, but as I suggested earlier, the food was not a priority during that trip 😉.
11 January 2017 - 9:31
admin says:
Emma, I was also a bit confused... They called it "half board" I think, but it almost felt like full board. That lunch/afternoon buffet was pretty simple (like soup, bread, pastries), so it probably didn't really count as a lunch (and maybe it was served a bit later than a lunch usually is, I don't remember the exact times). But you could always go in and have something to eat when you came in from the ski slope.
Marina, it feels like food becomes more important with age in some way ... and other things that become less important, haha 😉 But I'm glad you also have good experiences of food!
11 January 2017 - 9:32
Ditte says:
Thank you for a nice review with great pictures.
A good ski hotel for me is just like this one. Homely and cosy, good food, good rooms and close to the big ski area (preferably no bus but just putting on your skis outside the door, but sometimes you can't have everything).
I also think it is very affordable with all the good food included (I think the concept is often like this).
Often when skiing in Austria and Italy, we have chosen similar hotel concepts with half board because after a full day of skiing, the strength is not always at its peak to go out and look for a restaurant.
It is easy to understand that you enjoyed it and I can imagine that there will be annual ski trips to the Alps. Once you start, it's hard to stop.
11 January 2017 - 9:44
Geddfish says:
It seems perfect 😀 and I embrace breakfast! Breakfast is very important to me. Even at home. I am starving in the morning and it is the good start to the day, I think.
Nice pictures of a good environment.
11 January 2017 - 9:56
admin says:
Ditte, the closer the ski slope the better of course! We had 800 metres to the nearest one, but we did not have to carry the skis, we kept them in the shop at the slope 😉 To the other slopes it was 10 minutes by bus. And of course we get hungry to go again! 🙂
Geddfish, great to have another person who likes breakfast! I'm really hungry in the mornings!
11 January 2017 - 10:35
Ama de casa says:
Looked really nice! But saw that you also only had ONE glass? 😉 Haha! Of course, it is possible to drink directly from the carafe as well if it is tight 🙂
For over 10 years we have been travelling annually to the Alps (different places) with our ski and boat crew. But then we want an apartment, with three separate bedrooms. A large part of the pleasure of the trip is to spend time with friends that we don't see so often nowadays (since we moved). We cook most of the food at home when we socialise and squabble together over the training pain 😉 Of course, we eat lunch on the slopes.
So my requirement for a hotel in the Alps is that it should be an apartment 😀.
11 January 2017 - 12:35
Ama de casa says:
Then we have a whole list of what the apartment should be like and where it should be located. The requirements are varied - everything from having a dishwasher to not having church bells too close 😀.
11 January 2017 - 12:37
Anette says:
Yum, good food combined with exercise, perfect ?
11 January 2017 - 13:15
cat says:
Understand that you are dreaming back 🙂
11 January 2017 - 13:28
Nils-Åke Hansson says:
Now you have a lot to see and think about.
11 January 2017 - 14:49
Lena says:
The Austrians know breakfasts, this one seemed "premium class" ?? It was another gem to add to the list of possible hotels. Are they open in the summer as well ☃?⛷???? or just a winter resort?
All bones and limbs whole after this adventure was very well done by you and your travelling companions ???
11 January 2017 - 15:40
BP says:
In other words, you were super happy with the whole trip. So much fun! I guess the ski trip gave more taste - there are more alpine countries and tourist offices to choose from;-)
Unfortunately, I am not a breakfast person. I enjoy lunch more and of course a really good dinner. The food on the plate was completely to my taste.
I have only lived in apartments in the Alps.
11 January 2017 - 17:02
admin says:
Ama de casa, haha the second glass I had probably already carried away 😉 And of course an apartment is also an excellent option! If you can agree on all that from dishwasher to church bells 😉.
Anette, can only agree, perfect!
Lena, yes they are open in the summer too! In the past, it was apparently most high season during the summer. Now the winter season has become the most popular, but many people come here in the summer too, I understand!
BP, yes we were super happy! And yes, we can definitely imagine more skiing trips to the Alps 😉 I know that many people are not breakfast people, and I don't know if there is anything "unfortunately" about it. It is quite impractical to wake up starving. You're not always in a hotel, so to speak 😉.
11 January 2017 - 18:30
Inger says:
Wow, so many memories you bring back. It's actually hard to sort them out! Understand that you have had a very good time. ? I don't know how many times I have been to Austria and it is one of my favourite countries. Even have an Austrian citizenship left! ?
Nowadays, unfortunately, my body doesn't want to ski anymore, but I have to live on memories! ? I have been down to ski three times. When I did my teacher training programme, we were in Mariazell on a slalom course.
Two summers I spent several months at a time in Austria, helping to build housing for post-war refugees through a UN aid organisation. Those summers provided many rich experiences. There we cooked daily for about 20 people.
I can also say that it is not only in the hotels and restaurants that you eat good food in Austria. I was married to an Austrian for about 24 years and my mother-in-law, who lived way out in the country, cooked delicious food.
Hope you will make many trips to Austria! It is a country, which has a lot to offer on all fronts! Why not hike in the mountains next time? ?
No now I have to stop writing! ? As I said, your story brings back far too many good memories!
Thank you for your nice blog and keep up the good work!
11 January 2017 - 19:13
Deciree says:
That little extra is wonderful and a bit luxurious, it makes you happy. You seem to have had a fantastic trip and experience. Hugs to you
11 January 2017 - 19:22
Matts Torebring says:
There is only one reason why we have not been to Austria in recent years.
Our motorhome is too heavy and we need a Go box. I have not wanted to bother with that. Apart from that, Austria has everything you could wish for and more. It also shows this your post. Now I have a four-wheel drive private car and could go anywhere. I hope I don't get too old to return. Thank you for all your posts. Super good!
11 January 2017 - 20:20
Rantamor på näthinnan says:
But my goodness, what good food you got there.
And breakfast is usually the most delicious meal of the day, I think, would absolutely not be able to be without breakfast.
But then all the good dishes you got.... makes my keyboard all tired right now.
Tjingelingen from Rantamor....
11 January 2017 - 22:37
admin says:
Inger, oh thank you for your nice comment! Sooo interesting to hear about! Understand that you have many nice and interesting memories. Yes, we fell in love with Austria and can definitely imagine going there again. I like to ski again, but of course you can imagine coming another season as well!
Deciree, yes a very good trip!!!
Matts, ok I understand. We have a lighter motorhome, so I have not familiarised myself with how the Go box works. Is it complicated then?
Rantamor, I'm also one of those who likes breakfasts 🙂 But all meals were ... mmm!
12 January 2017 - 7:07